Every Trail Project- Scioto Grove

 It's been a few days and I've been racking up the miles in several parks since finishing Battelle Darby Creek. A few days after finishing my last trail at Battelle, I headed over to Scioto Grove Metro Park to finish my last few trails there. 

Scioto Grove is one of my most frequently visited parks (second only behind Prairie Oaks) and it has one of my favorite stretches of trail in the whole Metro Parks system - the REI River Trail. This park also boasts a few additional features including a canoe access point, archery course and a playground. It also has several tent camping spots for people who want to try out backpacking for the first time or to test new gear. Scioto Grove has 6 named trails that are open for hiking/running - Arrowhead, Connector, Mingo, Multipurpose, Overlook and REI River.

I actually started this park closer to the beginning of the month with the intention of running the whole thing in one day. The original route that I planned was just under 10 miles to cover every trail in the park, but about 7 miles into my run, I got to the REI River Trail were a section was completely flooded, so I changed it up on the fly and ran a different route back to my car and would need to return. You can see the original every trail route that I mapped out here.

So, on my first run, I ended up finishing a large portion of the Multipurpose Trail and the Connector, Overlook, Arrowhead and Mingo Trails, plus a small portion of the REI River Trail. You can see the route I ended up running here. 

The Multipurpose Trail is the only trail in the park that is largely paved. The rest of the trails are either crushed gravel, dirt or grass, which is probably why this park is one of my favorites. After heading down the Multipurpose Trail, you can connect to the REI River Trail by running briefly on the road to the Grove Lodge. This will take you on a small stretch of crushed gravel then to a completely unimproved trail until you get to the rope bridge. The rope bridge is becoming a favorite landmark to visitors of the park and when the water isn't too high you can also find large stepping stones running parallel to the rope bridge to get you across the stream. 

Steps to the rope bridge and the stepping stones hiding under water on the REI River Trail

Once you cross the rope bridge you come to the Mingo Trail which is a 2.5 mile loop through tall grassland. The trail itself is mostly grass. This trail is always fun to run, but there isn't very much shade, so just be aware if it is sunny and hot. 

Am I in the jungle or on the Mingo Trail?

After finishing the loop on the Mingo Trail I headed back down the REI River Trail to loop around the Arrowhead Trail which is a crushed gravel trail that takes you to a picnic area as well as the playground. After finishing that loop, I headed back to the REI River Trail which is when I found it flooded. This is actually something that happens often on this trail, especially when there are several straight days of rain like we had earlier this month. I'm always prepared to change up my plans at this park so I headed back the way I came and onto the the Overlook Trail which would take me back to my car. The Overlook Trail is crushed gravel and runs alongside the ridge above the river. It has several overlook points along the 1.2 mile trail. It also runs parallel to a section of the Multipurpose Trail. 

I waited about a week before I returned to Scioto Grove to give the flooding time to go down. I still had sections of the Multipurpose Trail and REI River Trail to finish. You can see the route that I ran here. I parked at the Arrowhead Picnic area for this run so I could hop on the remaining section of the Multipurpose Trail which would take me to the other end of the REI River Trail that would take me back to my car. As I mentioned above, the REI River Trail is one of my favorite stretches of trail in the whole Metro Parks system. This particular section of the trail runs along the river and is completely unimproved. In the spring as things start to turn green you can find bright yellow and purple flowers throughout the forest section of this trail. It is absolutely beautiful! It's also one of the best sections to see wildlife like deer, snakes and chipmunks. 

I love the canopy on the REI River Trail!

If you are looking for a park with a majority of the trails that keep you off of the pavement, Scioto Grove is a great choice! You get to see the river, the forest and some grasslands. It also has great options to do short or longer runs within the park. On your next trip to the southwest of the county, make sure you check out Scioto Grove!

As always, get outside, stay healthy and find joy!